Crimp pressure

[Elkshed]

This may sound a little redundant, but getting the correct crimp seems to have a lot to do with how the press is st up. I have yet to see a press that has a pressure (?) adjustment for getting the correct crimp. The best tool I've seen is the Lee Crimp Die, and even still there is no efficient way to gauge the amount of pressure exerted on the case. I've been following lots of different reloading websites and none have addressed this issue. "Getting a feel for it" doesn't cut it when everybody is adament about case size/primer mfg/ powder mfg/ bullet mfg.

Please can someone enlighten me?
Tx

[drail]

Actually, "by feel" is how it is done. Are you reloading rifle or handgun rounds?

[Slamfire]

This is what the Lee Factory Crimp die will do to 140 grain 6.5 mm SMK's



You will swage the middle of your bullets with the thing, and the crimp setting won't feel heavy at all.

I don't crimp rifle bullets. Neck tension is sufficient to win matches, I don't see a good reason to mess up the most perfect rifle bullets in human history with a stupid crimp die.

For handgun bullets. I crimp hard. I aggressively taper crimp my 45 Auto bullets. It is all I can do to hit offhand, my 12" gong target at 50 yards with a handgun. As a comparison against a rifle, last weekend, with my Stevens M416 .22LR rifle, I was keeping them all in a four inch square, offhand, at 50 yards.



Handguns are spitting distance things so I don't care if the bullets are wonky. As long as they go out the end of the barrel.

Rifles are precision instruments and need to be fed the best bullets.

[Jim243]

There are no stupid dies, just heavy handed reloaders. Now that that's off my chest.

For Rifle - It is adjusted by sight. Bring a loaded case up all the way with your ram, then start screwing in the die. When it hits the mouth of the case, bring the ram down and turn the die down another 1/8th turn. This will start a light crimp. Check your round and if needed turn the die down another 1/8th turn, keep doing this till you get the crimp you want.

You can watch the jaws of the die from the top and see that it is getting progressively smaller.

Trial and error is the way it is done, just don't error on too many cases.

Jim

[jtmckinney]

To state the odvious, consistent case length is critical to consistent crimping. A case trimmer became a necesity after my brass had seen a couple of uses.

I put a very slight crimp on my rifle cartridges and more pronounced crimp on my 44 Mag which has to be able to function in a tube feed magazine. I use the same method as Jim243 and it seems to work for me.

James

[Slamfire]

For Rifle - It is adjusted by sight. Bring a loaded case up all the way with your ram, then start screwing in the die. When it hits the mouth of the case, bring the ram down and turn the die down another 1/8th turn. This will start a light crimp. Check your round and if needed turn the die down another 1/8th turn, keep doing this till you get the crimp you want.

I tried this with 168 SMK 308 bullets. Thought I was giving them the lightest of Lee FCD crimps.

Sometime later I had to pull the bullets due to the surplus powder going bad in the case.

All of the bullets were swaged in the middle, to a lesser extent than the pictured 6.5 mm bullets, but they were swaged.

Pull some of your "lightly" crimped bullets and inspect them for jacket swaging. Even if your thick jacketed bullets don't show it, I will bet there is internal separation between the lead core and the jacket.

Today we have the best rifle bullets that humans have ever had access. What makes anyone think they can improve on the balance, concentricity, or diameter of the bullet by crushing them in the middle.

Maybe if you have elephant rifles, or some huge recoiling monster that sets the bullet back in the case, but otherwise, I think ruining good bullets with stupid crimp dies is, well, stupid.

[KySilverado]

20+ years reloading and crimp is still a "art" more than a science. I have to agree it's a "feel" thing for me and the critical factor is consistent case length. My recent loadings of 45-70 are a mix of case lengths less than case trim length. I'm actually adjusting the die by feel with each case for a light crimp.

[jaguarxk120]

Slamfire is so verry right!!The bullet is the most precise piece in the ctg. Why squash the heck out of it? You just paid anywhere from 30 cents to a coupla of dollars for the bullet. Why not just take them out and beat them with a hammer on the pavement!!

The major reason military ammo is crimped is due to the rough handling in the battle zone. Most machineguns will require a crimped bullet as they are firing well over 500 rounds/min. , you shooting a Browning 50?

[Slamfire]

Why not just take them out and beat them with a hammer on the pavement!!

I love that.

If my shooting buds on the firing line would only do this, then winning would be a cake walk. But the ornery cusses won't.

Heck I would even give the hammers away.

Whenever I have been squadded with the world's best, I ask them about their reloading practices. I ask about crimping. None, nada, zero, zlich ever crimp a match bullet.

[KySilverado]

Going to add. I agree don't crimp if it's not needed. There is no point.

In the case of my 45-70 loading, shooting in a single shot rifle, I would not crimp them if they would chamber, they won't easily because of the case bell. I'm putting just enough crimp to them to chamber without a lot of insertion force.